After a long few months of autumn and Indian summer, blowing over into the territory of usual Canadian winter, the perennial hope that the cold would never come this year was roused, leaving people more disillusioned than ever when it eventually did arrive, slick at their doorsteps. Dimly lit living rooms had all eyes on the television set, their faces downcast as the news augured a snow squall setting in upon the area. City maintenance trucks warmed their engines, and…